Israel strikes Rafah as evacuations ordered, UNGA grants Palestine rights
RAFAH, (AFP) - Israeli strikes on Saturday hit parts of Gaza including Rafah where Israel expanded an evacuation order and the UN warned of “epic” disaster if an outright invasion of the crowded city occurs.
AFP journalists, medics and witnesses reported strikes across the coastal territory, where the UN says humanitarian relief is blocked after Israeli troops defied international opposition and entered eastern Rafah this week, effectively shutting a key aid crossing and suspending traffic through another.
At least 21 people were killed during strikes in central Gaza, a hospital statement said. In Rafah, witnesses reported intense air strikes near the crossing with Egypt, and AFP images showed smoke rising over the city. Other strikes occurred in north Gaza, witnesses said.
Israeli troops on Tuesday seized and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing -- through which all fuel passes into Gaza -- after ordering residents of eastern Rafah to evacuate.
While mediation efforts towards a truce and hostage release appear to stall, Hamas’s armed wing released a video of a captive seen alive in Gaza -- the third such footage released in less than a month.
The man is seen speaking in the 11-second clip, which is superimposed with text in Arabic and Hebrew that reads: “Time is running out.”
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.
A US State Department report on Friday said it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel violated norms on international law in its use of weapons from the US but it did not find enough evidence to block shipments. The State Department submitted its report two days after President Joe Biden publicly threatened to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells if Israel goes ahead with an all-out assault on Rafah, where the UN said 1.4 mn had been sheltering.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that Gaza risked an “epic humanitarian disaster” if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.
In New York, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to grant the Palestinians additional rights in the global body and backed their drive for full membership, vetoed by Washington at the Security Council.